Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, originated in the memory of Williams. Williams' family embodied his father, Cornelius Williams, his mother, Edwina Dakin Williams, his sister, Rose Williams, and his younger brother, Dakin Williams. Cornelius was an alcoholic, always away from home; Tennessee and Cornelius did not have a strong relationship, "By the late 1920s, mother and father were in open warfare, and both were good combatants. He came home drunk and picked up a bill-perhaps for Tom's clothing or schoolbooks-and he'd fly into rage."(Spoto, 18). Edwina, on the other hand, revered "refinement and the good manners of Southern gentry." (Barron's Book Notes, 2). Tennessee adored Rose immensely and were close as they could be. The Glass Menagerie is based on a mother and her two children who live in a dream world away from society. Williams' play is drawn heavily upon his family life and experiences; they are very much parallel to the events that occur in Williams' life.
Tom is modeled after Tennessee, an ardent poet who works in a shoe factory; Williams was passionate about writing, "He[Cornelius] saw that Tom devoted to his writing as unnatural for a boy his age… worse, Tom did not have companions among boys of his own age, not did he participate in
sports."(Leverich, 82). Tom tries to support his mother and sister by working in a shoe factory even though he dreams to become a poet. His mother disapproved of him writing as well as his father, "Despite Tom's being published, Cornelius persisted in his belief that his son was wasting his time and should be thinking of a more practical way of making a living."(Leverich, 82). Tennesse felt so doleful and devastatingly miserable that he did not know another way of escaping reality but to write, "At the typewriter he transformed the confusion, the bitterness, the longings into poems, and for a time he cracked out a diary in which he recorded little anecdotes about St. Louis street life."(Spoto, 20). Williams's character, in like manner, felt that same emptiness, "He[Tom] is a poet by nature and feels that his environment is destroying his creative abilities."(Cliff Notes, 9).
Amanda Wingfield mirror images Williams's mother, Edwina Dakin Williams. Both of these women...

... middle of paper ...

...'s Book Notes). Laura and Tom do not like the dismal atmosphere of the apartment, "The new apartment had only two small windows, in the front and in the rear rooms, and a fire escape blocked the smoky light from a back alley."(Spoto, 16). Tom uses the fire escape as a break from the real world, "As he climbs the few steps to the fire escape landing light steals up inside…At last he find the key, but just as he is about to insert it, it slips from his fingers. He strikes a match and crouches below the door."(Williams, 55).

Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, is drawn heavily upon Williams' family life and experiences; they are very much parallel to the events that occur in Williams' life. Tennessee's and Tom's whole life revolved around their mother and sister. They were struggling with life's cruel realities which they were not able to face and defeat, but instead, ran away from. Tom can not lose his memories of Laura. He needed to find his own identity and try to find a place for himself in the world.(Barron's Book Notes). If he had stayed with his mother and sister, their illusions and dreams would have deceived him.

Click the button above to view the complete essay, speech, term paper, or research paper

Need Writing Help?

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay
- Amanda Wingfield in the play, The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, was portrayed as a distraught southern belle trying to control the lives of her children. In The Glass Menagerie Amanda is the matriarch of her small family who appears at first to be a woman who cared about her children’s futures- that is before she becomes so overbearing that she started to hinder her children’s future. Amanda was a single mother who could never grasp reality. The Glass Menagerie was a memory play that told of a family trapped in destructive patterns.... [tags: Williams Glass Menagerie]:: 6 Works Cited

Literary Analysis of The Glass Menagerie by Tenessee Williams Essay
- The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams had ordinary people in an ordinary life that closely resembled the influences of Williams’ personal life while having reoccurring themes and motifs throughout the story. The play has been done by many with some variations in the scripts and setting while still clinging to the basic ideas of the original play. Amanda Wingfield was a complex character that encompassed many facets of her personality. She longed to have the life she had as a girl and young woman with gentleman callers and being the center of attention; her reality though, was a much more dismal existence with a son who worked at a factory making little money at a job he despised and a d... [tags: The Glass Menagerie]:: 7 Works Cited

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay
- Tennessee Williams lived a tragic life, similar to the type of plays he wrote. Williams was born March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi and given the name Thomas Lanier Williams, III. It wasn’t until he entered college at University of Missouri-Columbia did the journalism student obtain the name Tennessee. His college buddies gave him the name because of his southern accent. Williams portrayed the southern lifestyle in many of his plays. He lived in a dysfunctional family. Williams and his mentally ill sister were raised for the most part by their mother because his father spent so much time on the road as a traveling salesman.... [tags: Character Analysis, Laura Wingfield, Review]:: 3 Works Cited

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay
- The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Within the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, there is a significant use of symbolism. One of the foremost uses of symbolism is seen through the character of Laura Wingfield, and her collection of glass animal figurines. Throughout the play, Laura's collection of glass ornaments is constantly referenced. Because she is crippled and suffers from extreme social anxiety, Laura is portrayed as living in a private world, which is populated by these glass animals.... [tags: Papers]

Essay on The Glass Menagerie: An Analysis
- Written in 1944, Tennessee Williams wrote a play during World War II when people were barely making ends meet. Centering on the Wingfield family, the story consisted of five characters: Amanda Wingfield (the mother), Laura Wingfield (the daughter), Tom Wingfield (son, narrator, Laura’s older brother), Jim Connor (Tom and Laura’s old acquaintance from high school) and Mr. Wingfield (father to Tom and Laura, and Amanda’s husband)- who abandoned the family long before the start of the play. The title, “The Glass Menagerie”, represented a collection of glass animals on display in the Wingfields’ home.... [tags: Analytical Essay, Tennessee Williams]

The Father As The Most Important Character In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
- The Father As The Most Important Character In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams In "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams the father is not a proper character, he is instead, portrayed by a ' larger-than-life-size photograph over the mantel' in the Wingfield household. Even though he is not a real character, he still has an influence on the other characters in the play because of the actions he had taken in the past. He is mentioned very little in the play yet his presence can still be felt in the actions and words of some characters.... [tags: Papers]

The Life and Works of Tennessee Williams Essay
- A man who is a great writer may only be known to some people as a man who has a creative mind and a skilled hand. People rarely see the true life of their favorite author. Plunging into the lives of other people can open a new perspective for an aspiring young writer. Tennessee William’s writing and lifestyle influenced a new age for American literature. Thomas Lanier Williams was born on February 23, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi, to Cornelius and Edwina Williams. Thomas was given the nickname Tennessee later in his life.... [tags: famous playwrights]:: 5 Works Cited

Essay on Memory and Reality in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie
- Memory and Reality in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie 'Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic'. To what degree is the play memory and to what degree is it realistic. "When a play employs unconventional techniques, it is not trying to escape its responsibility of dealing with reality, or interpreting experience, but is actually attempting to find a closer approach, a more penetrating and vivid expression of things as they are" (Tennessee Williams).... [tags: Papers]

Wingfield's Absent Father in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Essay
- Wingfield's Absent Father in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Mr. Wingfield plays a relatively prominent throughout the play. His decision to leave the Wingfield household has left lasting effects on the rest of his family. This has helped in establishing certain themes and issues in the play. The mentioning of his character in almost every scene throughout the play suggests its role in the action of the play. However, I would not agree to the view that he is the most important character in the play.... [tags: Papers]

Essay on Stage Directions in The Glass Menagerie
- Importance of Stage Directions in The Glass Menagerie In Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie, stage directions are as important to the theme of the play as the dialogue itself. Detailed stage directions intensify the unrealistic setting, foreshadow and emphasize events, and develop the characters. Dim colored lighting and symbolic melodies create the unrealistic setting for the memory play. In his opening narration Tom says, "Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic.... [tags: Glass Menagerie essays]:: 3 Works Cited